David Reuben, worth $13.1 billion, leaves Britain for Monaco after the non-dom repeal
Property magnate David Reuben has moved to Monaco about 18 months after the UK put long-term residents' global assets under its 40% inheritance tax. In California, where Prop 40's residency date has passed, opponents of the 5% levy are outspending supporters almost six to one.
The Investor · Invest desk
What happened
- A spokesman for the Reuben brothers confirmed David Reuben's move this summer but declined to comment on why he made it.
- More than a dozen billionaires worth a combined 120 billion pounds have left Britain since Labour took power, by an Evening Standard count of Bloomberg data that excludes Reuben.
- Sergey Brin has given $102 million to Building a Better California, the group leading the campaign against Prop 40, according to filings cited by Fortune.
Why it matters
- What doesn't add up contradiction If Brin's move before the cutoff still leaves him owing the reported $13 billion, Newsom's argument that billionaires can simply leave is weaker than the six departures make it look.
- Who has to decide decision Healey has to weigh dozens of MPs' call for a wealth tax on assets above 10 million pounds against a top tax base that has already lost more than a dozen billionaires.
- What it sets up precedent The departures came before voting had even opened, so a proposed levy with a fixed residency date moves people while it is still only a proposal, and any similar state measure would face the same.
Next story · Invest · Oct 7
Britain's billionaire exodus bunched up in the weeks before non-dom status endedConfirmed3 publishers
For an 88-year-old [1], the British tax with the most at stake is the one charged at death, or rather the version of it that the new rules extended to long-term residents' assets abroad [3]. Tax advisors warned when the residence-based system took effect that this was the biggest sticking point [4]. At 40%, Bloomberg's $13.1 billion valuation of David Reuben implies a charge of about $5.2 billion [2][25]. That is a gross figure, before reliefs or trusts. Monaco charges no inheritance tax, and no income or capital gains tax either [8].
City AM reported the reason for the move as unknown [6]. His brother Simon moved to Monaco about 40 years ago for health reasons [9]. The Rich List data carries more weight than one man's address. According to The Times, 60 of the 350 individuals and families on the 2024 Rich List were missing from the 2026 edition, most commonly because they were non-British citizens who had moved overseas [14]. That is about 17% of the list in two years [26].
Prop 40, a one-time 5% levy, fixes residency at Jan. 1, 2026, a date that passed before early voting opened this week [15][12]. Six departures out of 214 billionaires is under 3% by headcount [24]. By Fortune's calculation, four of them, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Peter Thiel and Travis Kalanick, would have owed about $29 billion, more than a quarter of the measure's projected $100 billion haul [16]. If that projection counted those four, the base still in the state is nearer $71 billion [27].
Gov. Gavin Newsom's case against Prop 40 is that billionaires can simply move to another state [21]. Brin moved, and Fortune still says he could owe roughly $13 billion if the tax passes [12][18]. His $102 million to the opposition [17] is about 0.8% of that bill [29]. The side he funds has spent more than $187 million against about $32 million in support, close to six to one [19][28].
I think the British record supports the tax-flight case better than California's does. Britain's system is keyed to residence [3], so leaving is the response it invites, and the exits are already being counted [7]. California's evidence so far is six moves and a vote not yet decided [15][12]. The counter-thesis is that the British exits are about more than tax. Jim Ratcliffe, a Monaco tax resident since 2018, blamed high immigration as well as high taxes for a country he called "on the slide" [11]. The tax reading fails if the dropouts turn out to have left for age, health or family; the Times count records that people moved, not why [14].
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told Bloomberg Television he would pay whatever Silicon Valley levied [23]. "We chose to live in Silicon Valley and whatever taxes they would like to apply, so be it," Huang said. "I'm perfectly fine with it, it never crossed my mind once." [22]
What to watch
- Healey's first budget on Oct. 28: whether it raises taxes on wealthy residents, and whether more Rich List names leave after it.
- The Prop 40 count against Propositions 41 and 42, since either countermeasure drawing more votes would nullify the levy.
- Any ruling or filing on whether billionaires who left California before Jan. 1, 2026, Brin among them, remain liable under Prop 40.
Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence66
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+35
- Incentives70
- Confidence64
Perspective Coverage
3 publishers- Builder
- Builder 5%
- Operator
- Operator 33%
- Investor
- Investor 62%
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
David Reuben, the 88-year-old property magnate who shares second place on the Sunday Times Rich List with his brother Simon, left his Holland Park home for Monaco this summer, a spokesman for the brothers confirmed.
- [2]
Bloomberg's Billionaires Index values David Reuben alone at $13.1 billion; the brothers' combined fortune is estimated at almost 28 billion pounds.
- [3]
Britain abolished non-dom status; the new residence-based system took effect April 6, 2025, and the change brought long-term residents' worldwide assets within reach of Britain's 40% inheritance tax. Reuben's move comes about 18 months after the change.
- [4]
Tax advisors warned when the system took effect that the biggest sticking point was the prospect of Britain's 40% inheritance tax reaching long-term settlers' global assets.
- [5]
Reuben's spokesman confirmed the move but declined to comment further on why he made it.
- [6]
The reason for David Reuben's departure is unknown.
- [7]
More than a dozen billionaires worth a combined 120 billion pounds have quit the UK in the two years since Labour took power, according to an Evening Standard analysis of Bloomberg Billionaires Index data; the tally does not include Reuben.
- [8]
Monaco levies no income, capital gains, or inheritance tax.
- [9]
Simon Reuben has lived in Monaco for about 40 years after moving there for health reasons.
- [10]
Chancellor John Healey is under pressure to raise revenue in his first budget on Oct. 28.
- [11]
Jim Ratcliffe complained that Britain's billionaires were leaving as the country was "on the slide" and blamed high taxes and high immigration; he left the UK in 2018 to become a tax resident in Monaco.
- [12]
Six of California's 214 billionaires were widely reported to have left before the initiative's Jan. 1, 2026 residency cutoff, including Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Peter Thiel, Don Hankey, Travis Kalanick and Steven Spielberg.
- [13]
Last year, dozens of MPs asked Healey to introduce a wealth tax on assets worth more than 10 million pounds.
- [14]
Of the 350 individuals and families in the 2024 Rich List, 60 did not appear in the 2026 rankings, the most common reason being that they were non-British citizens who had moved overseas.
- [15]
Early voting opened this week on California's Proposition 40, a one-time 5% levy on the state's billionaires.
- [16]
By Fortune's calculation, Page, Brin, Thiel and Kalanick alone would have owed about $29 billion, more than a fourth of the measure's projected $100 billion haul.
- [17]
Sergey Brin has donated $102 million to Building a Better California, the group leading the opposition to Prop 40.
- [18]
Brin could owe roughly $13 billion if the tax passes.
- [19]
Opponents of Prop 40 have spent more than $187 million against about $32 million in support.
- [20]
Two billionaire-backed countermeasures, Propositions 41 and 42, would nullify Prop 40 if either draws more votes.
- [21]
Gov. Gavin Newsom is a critic of Prop 40, warning that billionaires can simply move to another state to avoid it.
- [22]
"We chose to live in Silicon Valley and whatever taxes they would like to apply, so be it," Huang said. "I'm perfectly fine with it, it never crossed my mind once."
- [23]
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told Bloomberg Television he hadn't thought about the tax once and would pay whatever Silicon Valley levied.
- [24]
Six departures out of 214 California billionaires is under 3% by headcount.
- [25]
A 40% inheritance tax on David Reuben's $13.1 billion valuation implies a gross charge of about $5.2 billion, before reliefs or trusts.
- [26]
60 of 350 Rich List entries missing between 2024 and 2026 is about 17% of the list.
- [27]
If the $100 billion projection included the four departed billionaires, the base remaining is nearer $71 billion.
- [28]
Opposition spending of more than $187 million against about $32 million in support is close to six to one.
- [29]
Brin's $102 million donation is about 0.8% of his potential $13 billion Prop 40 liability.
Sources
3 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- cityam.comBritain’s second richest person leaves for Monaco amid tax bite
1 article · October 4, 2026
- fortune.comA $13 billion property mogul is the latest to flee Britain’s new taxes for Monaco, a warning sign as California votes on a billionaire tax
2 articles · October 7, 2026
- independent.co.ukBritain’s second richest person leaves UK for Monaco
1 article · October 5, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- UK non-dom regime
- Tax residency and wealth migration
- Wealth Taxation
Entities
- California Proposition 40
- David Reuben
- Jensen Huang
- Bloomberg Billionaires Index
- Sunday Times Rich List
- Building a Better California
- Sir Jim Ratcliffe
- Sergey Brin
- John Healey
- Gavin Newsom